ST. PETER PARISH CELEBRATES 109TH ANNIVERSARY
Tom Caprood
Troy Record
Nov 3 2008
NY
WATERVLIET – Parishioners at a local Armenian church had a lot
to be thankful for Sunday as they gathered after morning services
to celebrate the 109th anniversary of their parish as well as the
completion of additions to their church building.
Hundreds of people applauded inside the St. Peter Armenian Apostolic
Church, located at 100 Troy-Schenectady Road, as parish leaders held
a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication for several new additions to
the building which included additional restrooms, an elevator, storage
rooms, and additional office space so that the church secretary and
priests would have somewhere on-site to conduct their daily work.
The Rev. Haigazoun Najarian, diocesan vicar to the Primate, traveled
up from New York City to preside over the ceremonies. He said he felt
it was inspiring to see the church willing to expand while others
have declined due to harsh times.
"What we see in lots of parishes is that the numbers are dwindling,
but here they have the courage and the vision to not only take care
of their building, but to expand it as well," said Najarian. "We are
really ethnic people who care for our traditions and we’d like to
preserve those, but at the same time we’d like to have our own input
to the American dream and in American society."
The Rev. Father Bedros Kadehjian, pastor of the church, said he
was honored by the fact that his parish is one of the oldest in the
diocese, which was established 110 years ago in the United States,
and planned to see what the future will hold as far as continuing
the church’s legacy in the community.
Richard Hartunian, the parish council chairman for the church, said the
parish had raised approximately $400,000 through private donations so
far to offset the cost of the building’s $700,000 expansion and hoped
that the parish would raise more in the future through fund-raising
events such as the large parish dinner they held following morning
services and dedication ceremony, which had attracted about 140 people.
"We have a vibrant parish and we’re looking forward to another 109
years here," said Hartunian, who noted that it was not unusual for
such a parish to remain intact for such a long time. "The Armenian
church which is a very ancient church that has survived genocides
and wars, is long-standing, and very much steeped in tradition."
Danny Martin, a parishioner from Saratoga Springs, said he recently
returned to the area and was glad to be back in the parish community.
"I’ve been coming here my whole life, and I’m very happy to see it
finally done," said Martin, referring to the expansion project. "This
is probably the most tight-knit group of people you’ll ever
meet. Armenians stick together, which is nice to see."